I’ve been a Strava power user for almost 10 years, and there’s a lot I like about the app. But there are also a few things about it that drive me crazy.
You may or may not know that since 2021 I’ve been in the odd position of being the only Strava account able to create public Zwift segments. One would think I could get Strava to at least respond to my requests/input since I deal with Strava + Zwift more than just about anyone else, but so far that hasn’t been the case, with emails and support forum posts going unanswered.
So today, I’m screaming into the Strava void once again with a short list of simple ways Strava could improve its experience for the Zwift community. Let’s jump in!
#1: Disallow Segment Flagging
Strava lets users flag segments as hazardous. They explain it like this:
Flagging a segment as hazardous is a way for a Strava member to alert the community of potential concerns. A segment can be flagged as hazardous for reasons such as road construction or blind corners.
Seems sensible. But the problem is, Strava lets users flag virtual segments as hazardous as well, when of course virtual segments are by definition not hazardous.
The Volcano KOM and Hilly KOM Forward are current examples of flagged Zwift segments, although the flags may be removed when you read this.
While a segment is flagged as hazardous, it is much less useful to users:
- Goals cannot be set on flagged segments.
- Achievements (PR, KOM, etc.) are not awarded for flagged segments.
- Leaderboard and rankings are removed for flagged segments unless you agree to the hazardous segment waiver, and you must agree to the waiver for each hazardous segment you want to view.
As icing on the cake, there appears to be no mechanism for telling Strava these hazardous flags are incorrect.
#2: Allow Shorter Virtual Segments
If you’ve ever wondered why no Strava segments exist for Innsbruck’s sprints, the Leg Snapper, some of the turn-to-turn sections of Alpe du Zwift, or other bits of Zwift road, this is why: Strava currently requires all segments (IRL or virtual) to be at least 500 meters long.
I’ve written at length elsewhere why this restriction is goofy, so I won’t rehash it all here (see this Zwift Insider article and my post on Strava’s support forum). But there are lots of good reasons why Strava’s minimum length requirement makes no sense on Zwift.
#3: Automatically Remove Ridiculous Efforts from the Leaderboards
The tops of the leaderboards for some Zwift segments are just silly, and anyone can see at a glance that the efforts aren’t legit. So why can’t Strava remove them?
Here’s a perfect example: Watopia’s Sprint Reverse:
Yes, Strava could easily go down a big rabbit hole trying to verify efforts, turning this into a massive project where certain legitimate efforts could potentially be flagged. I’m not pushing for that level of performance verification. I’m just pushing for Strava to implement a few simple idiot tests such as:
- Holding over 100km/hr on a flat road? DQ.
- More than (for example) 50% faster than the current top 50 times? DQ.
- Matching current top 50 times, but with much lower power? DQ.
- Superhuman wattage like this #2 rider’s 1400W for 3 minutes? DQ.
#4: Overlay Zwift Map for Zwift Activities
ZwiftMap for Strava is a free extension that overlays Zwift’s maps onto your Zwift activities. But it only works on the desktop (browser) version of Strava. Here’s what my ride in France looks like:
Strava knows when an activity comes from Zwift (Zwift’s name is included in the file). Why not overlay Zwift’s maps onto the activities? These overlays give Zwifters a clearer view of their activity since it’s much easier to understand your ride when it is overlayed on Zwift’s accurate map vs an unrelated South Pacific island.
And One More…
I know I said there were four ideas, but here’s one more for good measure: Strava’s “Hide the start and end points of activities no matter where they happen” privacy control shouldn’t apply to Zwift activities. And yet it does!
This is another topic I’ve written about in detail previously, so I’ll just link to that post instead of including it all here.
Wrapping It Up
I don’t think these feature requests or fixes are big asks in terms of development time, and implementing them would improve the Strava experience for all Zwifters.
So come on, Strava. Our fingers are poised on the kudos button… but you gotta earn it first!
Your Thoughts
Agree with my suggestions? Got a few of your own? Share below!
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